Tim Walz Put Minnesota on a Path Toward California-Style Blackouts and Higher Energy Costs
The would-be vice president is adept at feigning moderation to mask his radical views
Just call him blackout boy.
In 2023, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill into law mandating a 100% carbon-free electricity standard for his state by 2040. That’s a tall order that’s going to prove costly for his state’s energy consumers; never mind whatever fictious deadline is attached to the legislation. Energy policy analysts with experiencing modeling the impact of new regulations on reliability and affordability anticipate that Minnesota will experience higher electricity prices and California-style blackouts if the state does not reverse course.
Now that Vice President Kamala Harris has tapped Walz to be her running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket, it’s worth examining how candidate Walz compares with Gov. Walz. Like many leftists out to dupe the public, Walz postured as a moderate when he was running for governor in 2018. But he double-down on a rabidly “progressive” climate agenda once taking office.
Expect Walz and Harris to push for dramatic restrictions on Americans’ energy use if they win in November. Put simply, what is happening in Minnesota will not stay in Minnesota even if Walz tempers his tone during the president campaign.
No Electricity for You
Issac Orr and Mitch Rolling, two researchers specializing in energy and environmental policy who co-founded the Energy Bad Boys blog, lay out the evolution of Walz’s anti-energy schemes.
The wind and solar mandates Walz presented to Minnesota voters would have required 50% of the state’s electricity to come from those sources by 2030. That was onerous enough, but the following year Walz pivoted to supporting a 100% carbon-free mandates by 2050.
Still not satisfied, Walz chopped off 10 years from the target date—moving it forward to 2040.
The separation between candidate Walz and governor Walz is not insignificant. Whatever he offers up to voters as their prospective next vice president, will likely only be a small sliver of what he will seek to enshrine into policy.
Orr and Rolling describe Walz’s so-called “carbon-free” bill as the “Blackout Bill” since their analysis shows that requiring the Minnesota power grid to be powered purely by wind,solar, and battery storage will result in a 55-hour blackout in the winter when the wind stops blowing.
Their analysis of Walz’s wind and solar mandates is every bit as unsettling. Orr and Rolling conclude that these mandates will cost “$313 billion through 2050 while also causing electricity bills for families to increase by an average of $1,642 per year, or $136 per month, reaching an additional $2,934 by 2040.”
The energy policy analysts also see “legislative hubris” at work on the part of Walz and his fellow Democrats. That’s because they declined to install any “offramps” into the “Blackout Bill” suspending the mandates in the event of a blackout. Moreover, Team Walz also voted down Republican amendments to enable the construction of nuclear power plants that could put at least some carbon free goals in reach while forestalling any blackouts.
Tyrant Tim
But where wind and solar mandates are concerned, at least there was legislation. That was not the case with electric vehicles in Minnesota. Instead, taking his cues from California, Walz bypassed his state legislature with executive action in 2019 in the name of climate change. The Minnesota Auto Dealers Association argued that Walz overstepped his authority in implementing the law. But the U.S. Supreme Court decided against hearing the case last year.
Walz’s “clean cars” rule largely mirrors California’s Advanced Clean Cars Program, which is made possible through a waiver in federal law that enables California to pursue stricter emissions standards than those adopted by the federal government. Walz’s EV standards went into effect in July 2021 making it the 15th state at the time to follow California’s lead.
The Institute for Energy Research (IER), a Washington-based nonprofit that favors free market energy policies, recently filed an amicus brief in a case out of Ohio challenging California’s Clean Air waiver. IER president Tom Pyle told Restoration News in an interview that it was imperative for the Trump campaign to expose Walz’s role in imposing “California-style green schemes on the American people.”
Former President Donald Trump has tapped Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance to run on the Republican ticket in opposition to Harris and Walz. Recent polls show the race is essentially a toss-up.
“When the political becomes the personal, and Harris and Walz are reaching onto your driveways and affecting your personal lives, that’s what needs to be exposed,” Pyle said. “When we raise awareness like that, the other side turns tail and runs. Despite California’s efforts to remake the country in its far-left image with the assistance of Gov. Walz, American consumers value and deserve the freedom to make choices that best suit their budget, lifestyle, and needs.”
The California Air Resources Board has maintained an updated list of states that have adopted its standards. In some respects, Walz’s EV scheme in Minnesota is even worse than what Gov. Gavin Newsom has imposed in California, according to a report from Orr and Rolling that found Walz’s legislation would “increase gasoline prices by 39 to 45 cents per gallon by 2030 and cost Minnesota families an average of $350 to $476 more for gasoline expenses.”
Orr and Rolling have frequently made the point that Walz has never seen an anti-energy initiative flowing out of California that he did not like. “His standard tactic has been the bait-and-switch,” they explain in their blog. After proposing more moderate policies an election season, Walz then lurches toward the far left at his first opportunity after taking office. If the Harris-Walz team is elected, nationwide blackouts could be in order.
